In the information age, we can collect more data than ever about our lives and activities. But we rarely use that data to effectively drive decisions by government, corporations, or even individuals. Joy Mountford shares examples from her work that show the beauty of data and its visualization.

Dr. Moira Gunn talks with UC Berkeley Psychology Professor, Dacher Keltner and the editor of Greater Good magazine, Jason Marsh, about how humans are naturally programmed to be good and what separates those who are from those who are not.

Dr.Moira Gunn catches up with internet pioneer and author, Jaron Lanier to discuss his new book, You Are Not a Gadget...a Manifesto, where he discusses the technical and cultural problems that can grow out of poorly considered digital design.

Dr. Moira Gunn talks with Jeremy Abbate and his partner, Yali Friedman about a new report published in Scientific American Worldview on the creation of the worlds first environmentally sustainable plastic.

Tony Hey, head of Microsoft External Research, talks about how open access and open tools help build bridges between academia, industry and government to advance computer science, education and scientific research. Modern science increasingly relies on computation to collect, process, and analyze complex data - the challenge is to seamlessly integrate these into standard scientific methodologies and processes.

According to science fiction author Karl Schroeder, it is sometimes possible to get things done more efficiently by relinquishing the traditional methods of control. Open source, democracy, government 2.0, and the invisible hand of the free market are mechanisms that demonstrate of the success of this phenomenon of handing control to a self-willed entity. He calls this principle "rewilding", and tells how this metaphor relates to open source software and other contemporary technological trends.

With new commons-based approaches to radio spectrum regulation like Wi-Fi, UltraWideBand and TV White Spaces battling against the interests of broadcasters and the mobile phone industry, what is likely to occur over the next two to five years and beyond? At the 2009 Emerging Communications Conference (eComm), a diverse panel of industry experts explore the technical, commercial and political issues involved in the spectrum policy debate.

Peter Maass speaks with Moira about his book on the global state of oil, and how technology plays a role. Oil is central to our world, but what role does it play in violent conflicts and the divide between rich and poor?